This invention pertains to hockey pucks, and more particularly to a hockey puck that is suitable for playing roller hockey and street hockey, indoors or outdoors.
As used herein, the term roller hockey is intended to refer to both roller hockey and street hockey, and both indoor and outdoor hockey activity.
A well-known problem encountered in roller hockey is the limited range of sliding movement of the puck on the ground due to relatively high frictional drag between the puck and the ground surface. Hockey pucks which make full surface contact with the ground such as shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,887,188; 4,754,973 and 4,878,668 are often made of light-weight material to reduce frictional drag. However, light-weight pucks usually have a limited range of sliding movement due to low momentum. Light-weight pucks, when launched from the ground by a hockey stick, have a tendency to travel along an unpredictable path and may suddenly ascend in a "frisbee effect" or may suddenly descend, making it difficult to anticipate the course of the puck. Low momentum problems and unpredictable trajectories may also be characteristic of the hollow, resilient puck of U.S. Pat. No. 3,675,928.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,784,204 and 2,727,744 attempt to deal with limited slidability of the puck on the ground by providing spherical rollers in each face of the puck. In the more recent U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,793,769 and 4,801,144, revolvable balls are sized to project from opposite faces of the puck.
The operation of revolvable balls or spherical rollers in a puck can seize up entirely or be inhibited if dirt or debris becomes trapped in the roller sockets. Since dirt and debris are generally inescapable on ground surfaces, the malfunctioning of one or more rollers in a puck because of dirt and debris can result in inconsistent or unpredictable movement of the puck during a hockey game. Thus it may be necessary to either clean or replace the puck, and possibly interrupt the flow of action when continuity of play should otherwise be maintained.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,111,419 shows a hockey puck with pin heads and screw heads projecting from all surfaces of the puck including the circular periphery. Stress concentrations that result upon impact of a hockey stick surface with the pin heads or screw heads in the puck can promote deterioration or breakage of the hockey stick.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,726,526; 3,997,164; 4,078,801 and 4,153,253 show hockey pucks with recessed areas beyond the central surface portion of the puck. Such pucks are likely to wobble or tip onto an edge when struck which can lead to unforeseeable rolling movement of the puck.
A roller hockey puck manufactured by Sport Court Inc. of Salt Lake City, Utah, and sold under the trademark Speed Puck.TM., includes an outer rim portion, a recessed central hub portion and three equally spaced arcuate openings between the rim portion and the central hub portion. Three arm portions that separate the arcuate openings join the rim portion to the central hub portion. Six axially directed plastic screw members with circular heads are pressed into six equally spaced openings in the rim portion such that the circular heads project from the opposite sides of the rim. The circular heads, which engage the ground, are oriented to align with the arcuate slots and do not align with the arm portions.
The arcuate slots of the Speed Puck.TM. have a radial extent of approximately 100.degree.. Thus, a hockey stick impact force on the rim of the puck that is directed through a mid portion of the arcuate slot tends to substantially deflect the rim portion. Substantial deflection of the rim provides a relatively soft stick reaction to a hockey player. An impact force on the rim that is directed through the arm portion causes less deflection of the rim since the rim is supported by the arm portion. Low deflection of the rim provides a relatively hard stick reaction to a hockey player.
As a consequence of the different deflection of the puck rim depending upon where the puck is impacted, there will be different speed responses of the puck such as a relatively slow speed response when the puck is impacted through the arcuate slot and a relatively fast speed response when the puck is impacted through the arm portion. Since the Speed Puck.TM. responds differently to impact forces that pass through the middle of the arcuate slots as compared with impact forces that pass through the arm portions of the puck, use of such pucks can be bewildering to a hockey player.
It should also be noted that the Speed Puck.TM. is comprised of at least thirteen individual parts. Moreover, one or more of the twelve individual plastic screw members of the Speed Puck.TM. can gradually withdraw from or completely dislodge from the rim portion of the puck resulting in problems of weight imbalance, uneven friction forces around the puck, and puck performance that can be erratic and unpredictable.
Furthermore, if any part of a puck detaches or breaks away from the puck and a player accidentally skates over the broken or detached puck fragment, a loss of skate control can result causing injury to a player or players. Thus repair or replacement of the Speed Puck.TM. is required, thereby interrupting the continuity of play during a hockey game.
It is thus desirable to provide a hockey puck that has minimal surface contact with the ground for reduced frictional drag, has no moving rollers that can malfunction because of dirt or debris, has a desirable weight for roller hockey, and has no removable parts that can loosen or fall out during a hockey game.